Simple
by TheFreakZone
Summary: Romano thinks love is complicated, but Antonio believes otherwise. One-shot.


_AN/ Idk, I guess I wanted to take a break from all the drama in_ Tight Rope _, so here you have a cute, fluffy Spamano one-shot. It's a Human AU, but I'll be using Romano instead of Lovino as his name. Hope you like it!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own_ Hetalia

* * *

 **SIMPLE**

It was a nice spring morning: sunny, warm but not hot, colourful, cheerful. The sky was blue, the birds sang merrily, the flowers blossomed and proudly displayed their colours.

The perfect day for a wedding, indeed.

Romano sighed as he stared at his reflection on the mirror. The suit fit him perfectly, but he still felt uncomfortable. Or, perhaps, that was just his being nervous. He loved Antonio, he really did, but just thinking about the day that was to follow made him nauseous.

There was a light knock on the door, and then that soft, musical voice that he loved to hear whispering to him at night was heard:

"Roma? Are you ready?" Without waiting for an answer, Antonio pushed the door open and walked in. Romano didn't turn to face him, instead following him on the mirror; and, despite de distance, he could see a flash on Antonio's green eyes when his gaze landed on him. "Oh, you look gorgeous!" he smiled, happily trotting to his side.

"I do?" Romano asked, self-conscious, making a face at his reflection. Seeing how stunning his lover looked in his own suit did little to improve his self-esteem.

"Yes, you do," Antonio reassured him. He placed a loving kiss to his cheek, wrapping his arms around his waist and then resting his chin on his shoulder. "I mean, you're always beautiful," he added, smiling at their reflection, "but now more than ever."

A small, shy smile showed up for the briefest of moments on Romano's face before he sighed and leant back against his boyfriend. "Do we really have to go?" he asked for what seemed the be the hundredth time in the past week.

"We kinda do, yes," Antonio chuckled. "I'm the best man."

"I thought Gilbert was the best man," Romano mumbled, looking everywhere but at Antonio's eyes on the mirror.

"We both are. Francis couldn't choose, so he picked us both," he explained patiently once again. "And, even if I weren't his best man, I'd still attend. It's my best friend's wedding, after all."

"Hm."

"Hey, come on, don't be so sulky," Antonio murmured sweetly. "Tell you what," he said, turning Romano around so they were face to face: "even though I'm going, you don't have to, if you don't want to. You can stay at home."

Romano frowned and looked away. "No, I—," he swallowed. "I do want to go with you. It's just…"

"There's going to be a lot of people, yes. It's a wedding, and it's _Francis_ we're talking about," Antonio laughed. But then he went serious, and he sent Romano such a loving stare that he felt weak at the knees. "Okay, this is what we're going to do: in the reception, if you start feeling anxious, come tell me and we'll leave. Is that okay?"

"I—Yes," Romano nodded, relieved. "Yes, that's great." Suddenly embarrassed, he buried his face on Antonio's chest and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for being so—thoughtful. And understanding," he mumbled, a part of him wishing Antonio hadn't heard him.

Content, Antonio smiled and stroked his hair. "Anything for you, Roma," he whispered into his hair.

It sounded like a promise, and Romano's heart leaped in his chest.

"Ah!" Antonio exclaimed suddenly, pushing him back. "I almost forgot — I've got something for you." Smiling brightly, he took something from his pocket and, without letting Romano see it, he smoothly moved behind him.

"What is it?" Romano asked, curious, trying to peek.

"Just a little something I made," Antonio smiled. Carefully, he opened his hand in front of Romano to show a simple necklace: four small, wooden letters that spelled _ЯOMA_. "Do you like it?" Not waiting for an answer, he put it around his neck and hooked it.

Romano snorted at the silly way in which it fell over his tie. "I like it," he answered, one of his hands toying with it. "Though the R is backwards," he casually commented as he hid the pendant under his shirt.

"It is?" Antonio gasped. "I hadn't noticed."

"Well, you've always been a bit of a moron," Romano replied, playfully.

"Yes, but I'm _your_ moron," he winked, cheeky, and Romano rolled his eyes. "Anyway—shall we go?" he asked, offering his arm.

Romano didn't think it twice before hooking his own arm around it.

~{x}~

Francis, true to himself, had chosen one of the most horrendously stylish hotels in town, or so had Gilbert mockingly whispered to Antonio as they had made their way there from the church. Romano, who had overheard it, could only agree once they walked in and were greeted by excessive gold decorations on walls and ceiling, huge mirrors and horrendous chandelier-lamps. Not many guests seemed to mind, for most of them had immediately attacked the food and alcohol, barely looking twice around them.

But not Romano.

Not wanting to get caught in the middle of the hungry crowd, he had found himself a nice, quiet spot in a far corner, and watched from there as the newlywed couple opened the dance. Granted, he couldn't actually _see_ the dance, since there was a lot of people standing in the middle, but he caught glimpses of the happy couple every now and then.

He could clearly see that, while Francis was in his element and moved around the dancefloor with skill and grace, Alice wasn't that comfortable. She followed her husband's lead with relative ease, yes, and to everyone else she looked as happy as a bride ought to be. But Romano knew better: despite being able to see so little of them, he didn't miss how Alice kept glancing around herself, disliking being the centre of attention so much; didn't miss her extremely flustered expression every time Francis kissed her; didn't miss how her entire body relaxed the moment more couples started to join the dance and she stopped being the target of all glances.

Romano stopped staring then. There were too many people now to see anything.

He risked a quick incursion towards the drinks to pour himself a glass of water and then retreated back to his corner, all the time avoiding crossing gazes with anyone else. He dragged a chair until it was a considerable distance away from all others and sat down. No one was paying him any mind, but he still felt as if a hundred eyes were on him. Would they judge him as rude if he checked his phone? Were they judging him as a weird loner for sitting there all by himself? He loosened his tie, which was starting to annoy him, and sipped his water. A group of people near him burst out in laughter and he flinched. They were surely laughing at him, he thought. He _was_ laughable.

"Roma?"

Antonio's soft voice pulled him out of his bleak thoughts. Romano looked up to see his boyfriend standing in front of him, slightly bowed, one hand stretched in front of him and the other behind his back.

"May I have a dance?" he asked, an inviting smile on his face.

 _Oh_. Romano bit his lip and looked away, nervous. The dancefloor still was the main focus of everyone's eyes — he didn't want to be in it.

"Just one song," Antonio promised, knowing what was making Romano hesitate. "And don't worry too much: there are already many couples, no one is going to notice one more," he smiled. "So?"

It was nearly impossible to say no to Antonio when he gave him that smile of his. Romano took in a deep breath and, putting aside his glass, accepted the invitation. When Antonio's face brightened up, his eyes glistening with joy, Romano almost believed that it'd be worth it.

But when he found himself in the middle of the dancefloor, he could only feel tenths of different gazes on him—criticizing him, snickering behind his back. He swallowed and looked around himself in paranoia, his breath quickening. He wanted to leave; run away.

"It's okay, Roma," Antonio mumbled sweetly, sensing his discomfort.

 _No, it's not_ , Romano wanted to scream. He looked at the other couples — all the perfectly normal, heterosexual couples. He and Antonio, they were different, they were odd, they stood out—they were the target of all the judgmental stares.

"Don't worry about them, _mi amor_ ," Antonio said, by then fully aware of Romano's fears. "I'm here. Look at me."

And Romano did. He looked up at Antonio's captivating green eyes, got lost in them, and suddenly all he could hear was the music; all he could feel was Antonio's hand holding his, Antonio's arm around his waist. He let himself get carried away, following his boyfriend as he led the dance with gentleness.

At some point, Romano dared to move the hand that rested on Antonio's shoulder, sneaking his arm around his neck and moving closer to him. He was rewarded with such a big, enamoured grin that he couldn't help but smile back.

Lost in the moment, he even forgot to complain when the song ended and Antonio, without any trace of shame, leant forwards and kissed him lovingly.

"See?" he whispered over his lips when they parted, his eyes glimmering full of love. "It wasn't that bad, eh?"

Flustered, Romano could only nod.

~{x}~

A few seconds before the panic kicked in, Romano knew there was no going back.

He had been feeling anxious for about an hour by then, and had remembered Antonio's words earlier that day: _If you start feeling anxious, come tell me and we'll leave_. And he had intended to tell him, he really had; but when he had spotted him in the middle of the room, dancing with his two best friends to whichever stupid one-hit wonder happened to be playing, he had refrained himself.

Antonio would drop anything for him no matter what, he knew it very well. Despite being enjoying himself so much, he'd dump his friends on the spot the moment Romano voiced his discomfort. And when he looked at him, his beautiful lover, warm and bright like a sun, lighting up the whole room with his mere presence, cracking up in a laughter that sounded way better than any of the music that had been played, Romano knew he'd hate himself forever if he dragged him away.

So he had resisted. For over an hour, he had focused on not giving in to panic. He had kept telling himself that he'd have time to warn Antonio before hitting his limit, that they could make it out of there before he actually had an attack.

Alas, by the time he couldn't resist any longer, it was too late.

The room suddenly started feeling too crowded, too hot—he had trouble breathing. Gasping for air, he looked all around, trying to spot Antonio, but to no avail; there were too many people around him. His eyes watered and he did what he had been wanting to do for a while: stormed out of the room.

Somehow, he found his way out of the hotel and into the garden. The sun was starting to set; it was a bit chilly. Romano opened his mouth and tried to take a deep breath of fresh, cool air, but failed. He was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Roma? Hey, Roma, it's okay, I'm here."

He barely registered Antonio's worried voice, but he did see him rushing to his side, carrying a folding chair (no doubt taken from the ballroom — thoughtful moron) that he opened and forced him to sit in.

"Okay, Roma, breathe," Antonio said, crouching in front of him. "Just breathe. Everything's fine." He took Romano's hands with his and kissed his fingers. "We're alone now. Don't worry."

Little by little, Romano recovered his breath, encouraged by Antonio's soothing words. He freed one of his hands from Antonio's grip to dry his cheeks and loosen his tie.

"Feeling better?" Antonio asked softly when Romano finally seemed to have calmed down. "Good," he sighed, relieved, after Romano nodded. "I was really scared when I saw you run off like that." He frowned. "I thought I'd told you to warn me if you started to feel bad. Why didn't you?"

"Ah—I-I don't…" Romano stuttered.

"Roma," Antonio cut him, giving him a stern look. "Why didn't you tell me you were feeling bad?"

Romano sighed in defeat and looked away. "I didn't want to ruin your fun," he mumbled.

Antonio blinked slowly, expecting to hear more. "That's it?" he asked after a minute of silence. "Sweet Lord, Roma," he chuckled. "Are you really saying that you were suffering while I was stupidly dancing with Francis and Gil?"

Romano shrugged and nodded.

"Well," Antonio sighed, squeezing Romano's hands, "while I think it's very sweet of you to worry about my happiness, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to never ever do it again."

"But—"

"How do you think I feel after finding out that you were having a bad time while I was having fun?"

Romano bit his lip and fought to suppress a sob. "B-Bad?" he muttered.

"Awful," Antonio replied. " _That_ does take all the fun away. If you're uncomfortable, just tell me. And if _I'm_ uncomfortable, I'll tell you. It ought to work both ways."

Not for the first time, Romano wondered what had someone like Antonio seen in him to stick by his side in a relationship that, honestly, no one had believed would last. "A-Antonio," he called him quietly. "Do you love me?"

"With all my heart and soul," Antonio answered without hesitation, an honest smile on his face.

"I-I love you too," Romano stuttered, embarrassed. "But—sometimes I'm scared," he confessed.

Antonio tilted his head. "Of what?"

"I'm not sure. Of you leaving me, I guess. I'm afraid that—that one day you'll wake up and realize you don't love me anymore, and…" he trailed off when he heard Antonio chuckling.

"My God, Roma," he muttered, shaking his head. "Why must you make everything so complicated?"

"Love is complicated," he protested.

"It is?"

"So they say."

"Hm, they do, indeed. But, Roma, I find it very simple," Antonio smiled, kind. "When we first met, I got so nervous I spilled coffee all over me. When we first kissed, I spent a whole day grinning like the lovestruck idiot I was—still am. I treasure every moment we are together, because they all are worth it. And I care for you much more than I've ever cared for anyone else—myself included.

"Romano, _mi vida_ , that's what love is. Quite simple, eh?" he smiled. "I have absolutely no doubt that you're the one for me. I knew it from the start. I truly love you, deeply, profoundly, and I'll do it to the end of my days. Don't you ever forget that, _mi amor_. And whenever you have doubts…" he grinned a bit mischievously and leant forwards, teasing Romano with the prospect of a kiss but, instead, reach behind his neck and unclasping the necklace he had given him that very same morning, "just take a look at this."

Equally confused and overwhelmed, Romano could only stare as Antonio displayed the necklace in front of him. He wondered what was it that Antonio had up his sleeve. Was he going to open the letters to reveal diamonds inside?

But then Antonio simply flipped it and now, where before it said _ЯOMA_ , he now could clearly read _AMOR_.

" _Da igual cómo te mire, tú siempre serás mi amor, Roma_ ," Antonio whispered softly as he returned the necklace; and although Romano didn't fully understand his words, he teared up on the inside.

He loved Antonio with all his being.

He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have him.

He didn't want to let him go, ever.

"Antonio."

"Yes?"

"Marry me," he blurted out.

At first, Antonio didn't seem to react. He remained still were he was, crouched in front of Romano, head slightly tilted to the side. Then, slowly, his face morphed into an amused expression. "Is that an order or a request?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" Romano frowned.

"Oh, it does," Antonio laughed. "Because, you see, if it's an order, I'll have to say 'Sir, yes, sir'; whereas if it's a request, I'll have to say 'Yes, of course I'll marry you, my love'," he explained, taking again Romano's hands with his own and kissing them lightly. "So?"

"It—It's a request," Romano said, blushing.

Antonio smiled. "Then yes, of course I'll marry you, _mi amor_." He kissed his hands again in adoration, but then pulled away and frowned. "I must say, though, that I'm a bit upset."

"W-Why?" Romano asked, suddenly scared.

All his worries were washed away when Antonio pulled out a small, black box from his pocket.

"You beat me to it," he pouted. But then his face lit up again and he gave him one of his signature bright smiles. "Ah, I'm going to do it anyway," he grinned. "Romano Vargas, I already said I'll marry you — will _you_ marry me?" he asked, opening the box to reveal a simple engagement ring.

Romano blushed and nodded. "Yes," he said as a few happy tears rolled down his cheeks.

Even Antonio's eyes seemed to be watering as he gently took Romano's hand and slid the ring on his finger. But when he stood up, pulling Romano with him and into a tight, warm hug, he was laughing with all the joy of a young, enamoured man.

"I love you so, so much, Roma," he whispered into his ear.

Romano returned the hug, smiling when he caught a glimpse of the golden band around his finger. "You fucking moron," he laughed, and clearly felt how Antonio tightened the hug at the sound.

"I love you too."

* * *

 _AN/ thanks for reading! n_n Reviews are always welcome and appreciated. :)_


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